Brothers
by Curious Rebel
Summary: Treating people who remind Cal and Ethan of themselves was never going to be easy.


**I am so disappointed with myself. I really, really am. I kept telling myself and telling myself that I would re-write my stories and have better standards. I hope you can forgive me, but I just never got around to doing it! Anyway, the summer holidays are coming up and I should get plenty of writing done then! Hope you enjoy my re-write of Brothers…**

* * *

Brothers

* * *

{ Third Person }

"How do you think they fell down that flight of stairs?" Cal quizzes his brother, Ethan, whilst on their break in the staffroom.

"Who?" Ethan asks, putting his coffee down with a confused look.

"The Diare brothers."

"Ah." Ethan says, sounding hesitant. Cal knows that look,

"What?"

"Does anything seem a bit… _off_ to you?"

"You mean other than the fact that they say they were brought up to hate each other?"

A relieved smile twitches at the corners of Ethan's lips.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one."

"What do you reckon we should do?"

"Wait till their father gets here, I suppose."

"Mm."

The two look uncertainly at each other for a moment longer before Ethan spots the clock behind Cal's head.

"Better be getting back, don't want to be running up a backlog." Ethan stops for a moment," Again."

* * *

{ Ethan }

"Okay, Ty, I have the x-ray of your hand here." I say, closing the cubicle curtain behind me.

"Fortunately it's not broken, and doesn't seem to be sprained, so it's probably just swollen and should be sore for a while. I would recommend keeping from doing anything strenuous and the swelling should go down by itself, if it hasn't by tomorrow, come back in."

I smile reassuringly at the fifteen year old boy, who looks rather sulky. Letting out a huff he says,

"Man, having a big brother sucks."

I smile,

"Indeed it does, but it can be quite nice; when you get along."

"You have an older brother too?"

"Unfortunately." I laugh.

Ty looks thoughtful.

"What's _your_ brother like?"

"Well," I begin, sitting down next to the boy," He can be a royal pain and very immature. But he can be caring and soft, even if he does have a funny way of showing it."

* * *

{ Cal }

I sigh, almost contentedly, as I stop outside of Adam's cubicle, x-ray in hand. It had been a while since me and Ethan had spoken about a patient without sparks flying.

I smile slightly and pull back the curtain.

"Well, luckily your arm isn't broken-" I begin.

"Does that mean me and Ty can go home?"

I sigh.

"Well, that all depends on weather or not your brother is fit to go home."

"Are you trying to tell me that he isn't?"

"No, of course not."

"Well? How is he?"

I realise that I forgot to ask Ethan how his patient was.

"I'll need to go and talk to his doctor about his condition."

He nods.

Right. Now I have to find Ethan.

* * *

{ Ethan }

"So, you don't hate him?"

"No. Although hating him would make my life a whole lot easier."

Ty pulls a face.

"My father says that hating those close to you is a necessary evil."

"Really….?" That's a strange thing to say, an even stranger thing to say it to a child.

I hear the whoosh of the curtain railing as the thin material is pulled back.

I turn to find my brother.

"Is something wrong, Dr. Knight?"

"Uh…" I tilt my head questioningly, Cal looks a little frazzled. "Adam, Ty's brother, is asking about him."

"Oh, well , his hand has some minor swelling-" I stop to think if there's anything I didn't check. I shake my head slightly. "I don't see why he can't go and see him. As long as your patient is able, that is."

"Yeah." Cal says, still seemingly distressed. "Yeah, of course."

* * *

{ Cal }

We walk the short way to Adam's cubicle.

Had Ethan meant what he said? Did he really not hate me? Would hating me really make his life easier?

When we arrive, things get slightly awkward. The brothers avoid each other's gazes and silence lingers for a while. This is a scene I know all to well.

"Are you….okay?" Adam finally asks, hesitantly.

"Yeah." Ty watches his foot rubbing a circle on the floor. "You?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Another moment passes.

The two begin to chuckle at the awkwardness.

"Come 'ere, you." Adam says, motioning for Ty to sit next to him, Ty obediently does as he's told. Adam puts an arm round his brother's shoulder.

I mirror him and put an arm round Ethan. I squeeze his shoulders and he smiles up at me, looking almost fond.

The sweet moment is broken by a shout coming from round the corner. The brothers pale in recognition as the four of us race round the corner.

A rugged looking man of average height and weight is shouting at Lofty, who is trying to calm the man down.

"Dad, stop it!" Adam says, going over to the man, but in his anger he just pushes his son over.

I help him up.

"Alright, Alright." Ethan says, pushing the man back from Lofty. "What's going on?"

"This idiot didn't even know where to take me to see my stupid sons!"

"I think that's quite enough-" Ethan trails off and looks at the man as if asking for his name. Ethan's being rather brave, even though he's probably scared out of his wits.

"Daren."

"Right, well, Daren, your sons are both fine. They've been very lucky."

"Good for them." Daren spits angrily.

Ethan clears his throat purposefully.

"Got something to say, doc?" Daren asks, aggressive.

Ethan shakes his head.

"There's no need to get violent." I interject, putting an arm between Daren and Ethan.

"I'll show you violent!" He shouts.

And suddenly all hell breaks loose.

There's shouting and Daren is trying to attack me to get to Ethan.

Lofty is trying to stop him.

Ethan is trying to stop him.

Adam is trying to pull his father away.

Ty is shouting for him to stop.

And none of us realise how close we are to the stairwell.

Daren shoves his hands out and they land on Ethan's chest, pushing him backwards.

All the struggling stops as Ethan tumbles down the stairs.

There's a horrible crack as his head hits the floor.

We stare down at his un-moving body.

Then we're suddenly all sprung into action again.

Me and Lofty fly down the stairs after him.

The second my feet hit the floor, I collapse next to my brother.

"Ethan? Ethan, can you hear me?" My voice is raised and panicked.

Lofty rushes off down the corridor and returns a moment later, Max and Zoe in tow.

"What happened?" Zoe quizzes. I bite my lip.

"We were trying to stop a fight-" Lofty says.

"And he got shoved." I finish, Zoe nods.

"We're going to need a trolley."

* * *

Half an hour later, and the police and social services have been called and Ethan has been moved to an observatory room; Zoe wanted to keep an eye on him for a few hours.

I stand outside the door.

Should I really go in?

 _"Although hating him would make my life a whole lot easier."_

Maybe it would, right now.

But I swear I'll prove him wrong.

I open the door with little hesitance, and I'm greeted with something that makes me want to cry and smile.

Cry with relief.

Smile with happiness.

Ethan is peacefully sleeping, resting his no-doubt weary head on a pristinely white pillow.

I let out a shaky breath.

Practically tip-toeing in, I close the door with a nearly in-audible click. I settle into the uncomfortable plastic chair. Leaning forward, I take Ethan's hand, cradling it between my own.

"You know, Nibbles, I love you. You're a great doctor and an amazing brother, geez, the things you do for me, they're incredible. You're an all-round genuinely good person."

I feel a slight squeeze of my hand .

I look up, surprised.

"I-I was just-"

Ethan shakes his head and chuckles softly.

I'm about to take my hand back, embarrassed, but Ethan keeps a tight hold on it, and I relax my palm into his. He yawns.

"Maybe you should rest for a while longer." I suggest softly. He nods in agreement.

Before he can shut his eyes fully, he says,

"I love you too, Caleb."

* * *

 **I wasn't supposed to upload this until the 20th, which is when my new update schedule starts, but I had it finished and thought I'd get it out of the way.**

 **Let me know what you think!**

 **Which of my stories do you want to see re-done next? There's going to be a poll on my profile, but you can PM me if you want or leave it in the reviews.**

 **Let me know if you have any ideas for any of my stories. I currently can't take requests because I have a serious backlog from months ago. Although there are plenty of other great Cal and Ethan writers out there for you to ask. Or maybe you could even have a go yourself! That's the best way to get what you want out of a story.**

 **\- Cale xx**

 **P.S. Thanks for waiting for this for so long.**


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